7 Deep frying mistakes to Avoid
Who does not love to enjoy their crispy fried chicken with chili sauce or a cheesy dip? Absolutely no one. There is nothing as tasty as deep-fried food. No matter how much people think it is unhealthy and blows their calorie count, they still find it hard to keep their hands off a plate full of crispy wings, nuggets, potatoes, or even onions.
Deep frying is undoubtedly a challenging cooking technique that needs time, patience, and effort to master. However, even if you have tried deep-frying at home before, it does not make you a pro. For beginners at cooking, it requires some serious knowledge on how to turn that regular potato into crispy curly fries or chicken breast into crispy, crunchy, and mouth-wateringly delicious fried chicken breast.
People often head out to their favorite restaurant whenever they crave deep-fried food. Do you know why? Because whenever they try making their versions of crispy fried chicken, nuggets, wings, or fries, it ends up undercooked or burnt, with a messy oil-splattered stovetop. Do you fall in a similar category? Well, stress no more.
Southern Fry Kings know how much people want their homemade fried food to be top-notch restaurant quality. Therefore, we are on the mission to help people make perfect crusts using our dry mixes and get the deep-frying part done right using our deep-frying guides.
While deep-frying at home, many people make a few mistakes resulting in a burnt crust and raw interior that no one wants. Scroll down to learn about these most common deep frying mistakes!
7 most common mistakes to avoid while deep frying at home
Is anything better than homemade golden doughnuts or crispy-on-the-outside and juicy-on-the-inside fried chicken? Absolutely nothing. However, not everyone can get the deep frying done right no matter how hard they try.
If you have ever ended up with burnt doughnuts or undercooked fried chicken whenever you tried deep-frying at home, you probably made a few most common deep frying mistakes. Here are a few mistakes to avoid to deep fry with confidence in the future:
Mistake #1: Choosing the wrong oil for deep frying
People's biggest mistake while deep frying at home is choosing the wrong oil. Even choosing the right batter, pan, or temperature will not help if you choose the wrong oil for frying. Many people believe that deep-fried foods are unhealthy. Therefore, they fry the food in coconut or extra virgin olive oil to make the deep-fried version less unhealthy.
However, none are suitable for deep frying because of their low smoke points and overpowering flavor. So, when it comes to deep-frying, you have to be quite careful with what oil you choose for the best results.
The best oil options for deep frying are canola oil, sunflower oil, and soybean oil. All of them have high smoke points and not-so-overpowering flavors. Frying in high smoke point oils results in the crunchiest and crispiest fried food.
Moreover, frying oil is reused in many homes. However, some people may reuse it for much longer than they should, adding a burnt taste to their fried food. Therefore, make sure always to filter your oil before frying. However, if it still makes your fried food taste burnt, change it immediately.
Mistake #2: Using the wrong pot for deep frying
In every kitchen, there are tons of utensils used daily. However, every utensil has its own cooking purpose. Just like you cannot make a soup in a frying pan, you cannot deep-fry in any pot or pan you like.
Deep frying requires a consistent temperature, and only a few pots can help maintain that. Therefore, the best candidate for deep frying is a Dutch oven. It is heavy, deep, and retains heat better. By deep-frying in a Dutch oven, you will not only be able to make the crispy and crunchy fried food but also prevent splattering oil all over the stovetop.
Mistake #3: Deep frying at too high a temperature
For a perfect crispy chicken breast or nuggets, make sure your oil is between 325°F and 375°F. Any temperature higher than this can make your food cooked on the outside but raw on the inside. Foods like chicken or fish need their time to be cooked thoroughly. So increasing the temperature will not help at all.
Therefore, the best approach is to keep an oil thermometer with you to manage the oil temperature. Whenever the temperature gets between 325°F and 375°F, drop your chicken and fish pieces into the pan. If you are a beginner at cooking, an oil thermometer is a tool that will make things quite easier for you in the kitchen.
Mistake #4: Deep frying at too low a temperature
While you are making crispy fried chicken, nuggets, or doughnuts for a movie night party, you might get tempted to drop them in the pan as soon as possible, so you don't miss the movie's beginning. However, dropping the food too early in the oil can result in soggy fried food, which no one wants.
Therefore, you must show a little patience and give the oil time to get to the perfect temperature if you want to stick your teeth on crispy and crunchy fried food. As mentioned above, you should invest your money in an oil thermometer if you want to deep fry at home. It will help you get the temperature right every time, and temperature is the key to getting deep frying right!
Mistake #5: Overcrowding the pan while deep frying
The general rule of thumb for deep frying anything is to plan accordingly. Like other home cooking techniques, you cannot just throw all the ingredients in the pot at once and hope for the best. For best deep-frying results, you have to be precise, and one of the things you have to be precise about is how big of a batch you need to fry at once.
Overcrowding the pan when deep frying will result in an unevenly-cooked batch. Therefore, the best approach is to fry the food in small batches. It may take a lot of your time and effort, but the result, in the end, will be worth it.
If you are making fried food just for yourself and some friends, choose a small-sized pot and fry the food in small batches. However, what if you want to serve the fried food to a large gathering? How do you speed up the process and still not have to compromise on the crispiness of the fried food? Try frying in a big-sized pot. It might be a little hard to manage, but you will be able to fry a large batch of chicken, fish, nuggets, or any other food without overcrowding the pan.
Mistake #6: Not watching the pan while deep frying
Whenever you decide to cook something in your kitchen, you have to stay involved during the whole process. However, when you bake or have something to boil or simmer, you can step away from the kitchen and complete your other chores. However, that's not the case with deep frying.
While deep frying at home, you must be constantly present near the pot to watch the oil. Even if you step away from the kitchen for a few minutes, you will be putting your food, kitchen, and yourself at high risk of getting burnt. A grease fire can start in a few seconds if the oil in the pan gets extremely hot or spilled over.
Mistake #7: Choosing the wrong batter ratio
No matter how much of a great deep-frying technique you follow, your fried food will not be crispy if you choose an inappropriate ratio of batter ingredients. For a crispy fried chicken or a fish, you must prepare a batter for its crunchy crust. However, many home cooks find it difficult to find the right balance between the ingredients.
Southern Fry Kings has a perfect solution for you if you face the same issue. With our dry batter mixes, you will no longer have to worry about choosing the right ratio of ingredients. Instead, just dip, fry, and enjoy the yummy and crunchy goodness!
Conclusion:
Deep-fried food has undoubtedly been the ultimate comfort food for Americans. Whether it's a weekend, public holiday, or any special occasion, people in America love to head out to their favorite restaurant to enjoy crispy and crunchy fried food. However, while following the strict stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic, people have started to explore their inner chef capabilities and tried many deep-fried food recipes.
However, most of them ended as an absolute disaster because of these above-mentioned deep-frying mistakes. Now, armed with the right information, you will be able to avoid these mistakes and deep fry with confidence!